Hog Tale: U of A Meeting, Engagement and Wedding

By Julia Killingsworth B.S.’12My grandfather, William Lyon, and my grandmother, Peggy Ross Lyon, both attended the U of A in the 1950s. Both my parents, Jack and Lawana Lyon, and Nick’s parents, Steve and Sherry Killingsworth, attended the U of A in the 1970s and 1980s. Nick and I did not know each other when we were both freshmen in 2008. I lived in Pomfret (with my future maid of honor) where I met some of my best friends, a group of girls that still gets together at least once a year. Nick lived in Futrall Hall (with his future best man).

Nick and I first met when we had Honors Organic Chemistry together in Kimpel Hall our Junior Year. Dr. Matt McIntosh always gave 5-minute quizzes at the beginning of each lecture in teams. Nick and I sat near each other, and so even though I didn’t even know his name, we were often on the same team. Nick was very studious (and handsome). Later that semester I asked him if he would be my date to my sorority’s semi-formal. He told me he might have to study that night (a Friday night, weeks away), but he’d think about it. Several days later he agreed to go with me to the function. We attended the Kappa Kappa Gamma Kissmas Semi-formal together and started dating shortly after.

After graduation, I moved to Little Rock to attend medical school at UAMS; Nick started Physical Therapy school in Conway. We would often return to Fayetteville to visit friends and family, U of A events, and of course to the occasional Razorback game. Almost always we would take a nostalgic walk around campus passing by Kimpel Hall where we first met. So, this past year I wasn’t suspicious at all when we went on a weekend trip to Fayetteville (to see Martin Sexton at George’s) and Nick suggested we take a walk around campus. Once on campus, he made a beeline for Kimpel Hall. We walked back into that lecture room where we first met and I sat down in my old seat. Nick got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!

On October 1, 2016, Nick and I were married on the steps of Old Main. One of my advisers from the Volunteer Action Center and the Full Circle Food Pantry, Ms. Angela Oxford, officiated the ceremony. We celebrated that night at Carnall Hall with our friends and family.

We now live in Little Rock; I’m a pediatric resident at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Nick will finish his Doctorate of Physical Therapy this August. We have so many wonderful memories from our times at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas will always be a special place for us and our families.